Sonic Lanterns 3: Jack the Dingo
by Powershade117
Summary: A sequel to "Sonic Lanterns 2: Axel the Bandicoot". Jack the Dingo is very upset about what happened to his friends, Axel and Jessabel. He believes there is some way for him to help is friends. All he needs is the right tool. Jack is a Sonic fan character created by TAU300. For more information on the character, go to his DeviantART page and read the stories he has featuring him


Sonic the Hedgehog walked into the place where Jack the Dingo, a mercenary and friend to Axel the Bandicoot, was staying. Sally accompanied him as well. Jack was hurting badly and had no one to talk to about it. Vesper was gone and TAU was preoccupied with other things elsewhere. Plus, Jack was not one to vent his problems to others easily. Sonic walked up to him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Jack turned his head and looked at the blue hedgehog. " Jack? How are you holding up, man?"

Jack knew what he meant. He saw first-hand what happened to his two best friends. He did not believe it at first, but after he saw both of the fighting each other and one of them tried to kill him as well, he was now a true believer. "How do you think I'm holding up, Sonic? The world is once again in danger...and my two best friends are now my enemy. Jessabel is now one of those yellow suited freaks. And Axel...he's let his rage consume him. Now he's one of those Red Lanterns and only cares about vengeance and destruction."

Sonic caught onto Jack's attempts at sarcasm, knowing he was trying to shield himself from more pain. "Sorry, man. I was just..."

"I DON'T NEED YOUR PITY! JUST...I...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..."

"I understand. I've lost friends before...nothing like this, but I know what it is like to feel betrayed by those closest to you."

Jack thought about it silently, remembering all that his friends were and what they have become. At first he is filled with anger and spite, but that soon turned to sadness. Jack broke down and fell to his knees. He let the tears pour out of his eyes, not bothering to hold them back. "It just hurts, Sonic. I want my friends back. I just wish there was something I could do to help them. I believe that deep down, they are not the monsters that they have become. They can be saved. I just know it."

Sally stepped forward then. "Jessabel's been corrupted by fear and Axel by hatred...what can you do to help them?" She knew that was not the nicest thing to say, but she wanted Jack to be aware of all possibilities, no matter how grim they were.

Calming down from his sobbing, Jack answered. "I don't know! Just...something."

"Perhaps we can help." The voice was unfamiliar and all three of them looked around in surprise, not sure who said that or from where. Jack spoke first. "Huh? Who..."

Sonic jumped in, finishing Jack's question boldly. "Who's that? What do you want?"

In a bright flash of blue, a tall humanoid figure appeared in front of the trio. She floated down toward them, adorned in a blue and white suit with a blue cloak and hood over top. Her face was mostly covered with a purple mask. She appeared to have no legs however, eliminating the possibility of being human. Where her legs would have been, there was a black mass of tendrils instead. Despite these odd appearances, the trio looked up at her and felt at peace. It was as if all that was dark had been washed away, leaving only warmth and confidence.

"I am Sister Sercy. I have come to see all of your hopes come true, Jack of Mobius."

"You know who I am?"

"I do. I have been watching you for some time now. I've been...evaluating you."

Jack raised his eyebrow in cautious curiosity. "Evaluating me?"

"I have little time to explain. Believe me when I say I mean you no harm. I extend an invitation to join our ranks, however. In spite of all this darkness, you cling to the belief that your friends will return to their old selves. This is an admirable trait, and one that we are looking for."

"Who is "we"?"

"Come with me...and all will be explained. Take my hand." The alien identified as Sercy stretched her arm down and opened her hand welcomingly, coaxing Jack to grasp it.

Jack thought about it for a few minutes while Sercy patiently waited. Jack had many questions in his head regarding how she knew of him, how long she had been watching him, and what exactly she wanted with him. But then he thought back to how she said she could help him help his friends. He finally looked up at her and smiled. "...I...very well. I will trust you. I want to save my friends. Please…just help me save them."

Jack reached up and took Sister Sercy's hand. They were subsequently surrounded by a blue aura as Sercy took him higher into the air, eventually passing through the atmosphere and leaving Mobius behind. They dashed past many worlds in their journey. Jack simply looked out of the translucent aura in complete awe. He had no idea just how big the universe was, despite his many theories. Finally, Sercy slowed down and they landed on another planet. The ground was soft with lightly colored sand, which was warm to the touch. Jack could not explain it, but this place was calming.

Floating in the air in front of him, Sercy beckoned him to follow her as she spoke. "This is planet Odym, the base of operations for the Blue Lantern Corps."

" Blue Lantern Corps? What is that, some kind of police force for them run-away blue lights?"

Sercy chuckled warmly at his remark. She was not used to hearing such a joking tone from such a lost soul, but it was welcoming. "Your sarcasm is refreshing. It relieves tension and gives you strength. We Blue Lanterns have learned to harness the very essence of hope and turn it into power. And the conduit for this power...this." Sercy stopped and turns to Jack, showing him the glowing blue ring on her finger.

Jack looked at the ring curiously. "Nice piece of jewelry. You say that this is the source of your power?"

"Not fully. The true power comes from deep within us; our hopes and dreams and the hopes and dreams of others. This just allows us to channel those thoughts into power to create anything we can think of."

Without thinking and letting his curious mind take over, Jack clutches her hand and examined the ring more closely. She did not resist, instead letting him look closer. "How does it work exactly? I'd love to get my hands on one just to see how it works inside and out."

"Be patient, Jack," Sercy replied, pulling her hand away gently. "What about your friends? Don't you want to save them?"

Her words hit Jack harder than she could imagine. How could he have been so stupid to forget about them? He got caught up in all that had happened in the past few minutes and just seemed to let that slip his mind. He looked at Sercy with a more determined face. "I...Just lost my train of thought I guess. Of course I want to save them! That's why I'm here, isn't it?"

"You're here because Sercy, our newest recruit saw that spark of hope in you, even in the darkest of times in your life." That was a new voice that spoke instead of Sercy. Jack stopped and swiveled his head left and right, unsure of where the new voice came from. He then noticed two blue life forms, one male and one female, garbed in white approaching him from the air, floating down like a pair of robed angels.

The male alien said, "I am Ganthet, one of the two leaders of the Blue Lantern Corps."

"And I am Sayd," The other one introduced. "It is a pleasure, Jack of Mobius. Yes, we know who you are. Sister Sercy informed us that she had found a potential new recruit."

"I will take my leave now, if I may," Sercy asked the two aliens.

"You have done your part, Sister Sercy," Ganthet answered. "We'll take it from here."

Sercy flew off, leaving Jack with these newcomers. Despite their odd appearance, Jack did not feel in the least bit threatened. It was as if they simply radiated calming energies. He felt at ease in their presence. "So...You two lead this bunch, right? What must I do to save my friends? I gotta sign something, or do a little ritualistic dance, or what?"

Ganthet brushed off his comment and stepped closer. "Nothing like you know it, Jack of Mobius. Your initiation starts now. I ask you this: What is hope to you? Why do you believe?"

Jack was taken aback by this sudden question, puzzled by its implications. However, he could tell that Ganthet was being serious. It would only be polite to be just as serious and honest. "Hope for me...It is the drive to get up and go when all seems lost. It is the force that allows me to pick myself up after I've been defeated, no matter how many times that may be. I believe that...if I don't get up, then I would have failed...myself and my friends. I hope for their futures and their happiness"

Many minutes passed silently as both Sayd and Ganthet stared at Jack, almost like they were evaluating his answer. Finally breaking the silence, Sayd said, "A very selfless dream of yours. I...see that you are sincere. You are ready. To complete you initiation, you will spend three days and three nights here on Odym, contemplating ever more deeply what hope is and how to wield it properly."

This made Jack falter for a split second. "Three days? I...Well...If that's what it takes to save my friends...then I will do it."

Ganthet nodded. "Then follow us. Your training begins now."

Ganthet and Sayd led Jack through the white rocky canyon until they reached a place where a waterfall met a lake below. In the middle of the lake was a rocky pillar. At the top was a large and magnificent Blue statue with a radiant light inside of it. Jack stared into at as his mentors lowered themselves and him down gently to the bottom on the lake's edge. Even down there, Jack found himself staring at it intensely. Sayd noticed this. "It is the Blue Power Battery. It is a collection of the hopes of all beings in the universe and is what gives all of the Blue Lanterns their power. Without it...we have no way to spread the blue light of hope."

Jack continued to stare as if in a calming trance. "It's so...calming. I can't explain it, but...I just feel...at peace."

"That is the feeling of hope coming from within you," Sayd answered. "Here is where you will spend your three days. You must do so alone and think hard on what hope really means to you. When you are ready, we will return."

Ganthet and Sayd left Jack alone in this peaceful setting for his contemplation. The three days felt longer than they really were. The first day was a restless time for Jack as he pondered on how he would help his friends get better from that which plagued them. He paced back and forth and would not stop moving, his mind racing and thinking and plotting. At one point, he thought about climbing up to the Battery and inspecting it to see what made it tick for no other reason than to focus on something other than his friends' pain. He decided against that however, as he realized that doing so might upset his gracious hosts.

By the time the second day came, Jack was calming down. He sat down a lot more, realizing that pacing and worrying would do nothing to help. His gaze kept on being drawn to the Blue Battery, its light somehow providing a sense of calm for him as he felt his own hopes becoming stronger. The water he drank from the lake was also helping, as it was so pure and soothing. His thoughts went back to home however, but instead of wondering how things were doing, he began focusing on how he might make things better.

On the third day, Jack finally came to terms with himself. He found himself closing his eyes and opening his mind to the world around him, taking in the finer things like the sound of the waterfall and the rustling of the leaves in the trees overhead. He thought about Jessabel and Axel, thinking ahead and hoping that this blue light would be the answer to saving them. He thought about how they would one day be free of the powers that held them and that things would go back to normal. He thought again and hoped that once all this was over, everything would not be normal, but better for all of them. Near the end of the third day, he saw the forms of Sayd and Ganthet coming down to meet him. He stood up and waited attentively until they were right in front of him. He stood up and spoke calmly. "I thought this lasted three days and three nights. It's not even past...your sunset, I suppose."

"We could feel your hopes and dreams growing stronger from afar," Sayd replied comfortingly. "You have a strong heart and a desire to help not only your friends, but those around you. The three days and three nights are to see if you have the resolve to believe in a better future, no matter how alone you are. You have proven yourself."

"So...I aced your test then?"

You were not to prove yourself to us," Ganthet said. "You had to prove to yourself that you are worthy of wielding the blue light. So...do you think you're worthy?"

After three days to think on it, Jack only needed a second to collect his thoughts before he was ready to tell Ganthet and Sayd what he thought. "I...I'll be honest and say that I don't fully know. I think back to home and how I've been gone from there. How long have my friends suffered since that time? How many have been hurt because they don't know what they're doing? I think about that and it pains me. But then I think about it and believe that I can make a difference, no matter the final outcome. I hold onto the hope that tomorrow will be better for me and for all the lives that I touch, whether it is the clients that hire us or those closest to me. I want to be better and help them be better too. This...This is what hope REALLY means to me."

A silence befell the three as Sayd and Ganthet took a moment to stare into Jack's eyes. He stared right back, ready to accept whatever may come from these cosmic beings. Finally, Ganthett reported, "You have done well, Jack of Mobius. You have the ability to cling to hope even if many others have lost all of theirs. You have a gift that must be shared."

Jack breathed a sigh of relief. He looked at his two hosts, smiled, and bowed politely. "Thank you, Ganthet. Thank you both for giving me this chance."

Sayd stepped forward. "All that is left is for you to say the oath: In fearful day, in raging night, with strong hearts full, our souls ignite. When all seems lost in the War of Light, look to the stars. For hope burns bright."

Ganthet held out a blue ring bearing the Blue Lantern insignia. "Speak the oath and then accept your ring. You will then be one of us, and answer to a higher calling."

Jack looked at the ring and at the fruits of his patience. He was finally at the threshold to receive the power to rescue his friends from themselves. From the deepest part of his soul, he let the words flow out of him. "In fearful day, in raging night, with strong hearts full, our souls ignite. When all seems lost in the War of Light, look to the stars...for hope...burns bright."

Jack accepted the ring from Ganthet. As he slipped it on his middle finger, he was surrounded by a blue light, a warm feeling filling his heart. He could feel at peace, his soul filling with the hope that he believed would bring salvation to his friends. His body became covered in a blue and black suit, with his signature vest, now in a brighter shade of blue over the top. In the center of his chest, he bore the symbol that inspired hope; the symbol of the Blue Lantern Corps. "Hold on Jessabel and Axel...My blue light of hope will save you. I promise you that."


End file.
